No Gas or Service for 200 Kilometers

So reads the sign when you leave Fort McMurray, headed towards Edmonton. The irony is bewildering.

The highways leading to Fort McMurray are dangerous, poorly constructed and poorly maintained. The rationale escapes me. This is a very rich province in a very rich country, and much of that wealth comes from Fort McMurray. Yet the government has not invested money in either roads or a railway line.